The visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to The Hague this Thursday is a surprise, but not surprising. The Netherlands is not only the host country of the International Criminal Court, which prepares for the trial of Russian war crimes, but has also been a small but important ally of Kyiv for months.
The two countries are in constant talks. The Netherlands helps Kyiv in a large number of areas and plays a role in international discussions that are important for the course of the war and for the future of Ukraine. The visit of the Ukrainian president obviously has important symbolic value. It coincides with Remembrance Day – probably coincidentally, but Zelensky has previously shown a sense of historical events. Plus, there’s plenty of potential talking point: Zelensky never travels without a shopping list.
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Quite soon after the Russian invasion, The Hague was at the forefront of discussions about arms supplies, even though the Netherlands is, certainly compared to the US, only a small player. The Netherlands has now supplied so many weapon systems and ammunition that the Ministry of Defense has put them in one flyer clearly arranged. For example, the Netherlands supplied parts of Patriot anti-aircraft systems and armored howitzers from its own possession. This often involves cooperation with other countries. If the Netherlands itself does not have the equipment that Kyiv asks for, The Hague will put money on the table for purchase elsewhere. In total, the Netherlands donated 1.2 billion euros worth of weapons.
Fighter aircraft
Should the West decide to supply Western fighter planes, The Hague can also play an important role in this. The Netherlands has dozens of F-16s that are being replaced in recent years. During a visit to Helsinki on Wednesday, Zelensky brought up aircraft himself. The Netherlands has said that there is no taboo on delivery.
Zelensky has been asking for planes for months. He is afraid that he will run out of anti-aircraft ammunition and then no longer have the upper hand in the airspace. It has been a handicap for Russia from the very beginning that it cannot operate from the air over Ukraine.
The delivery of American-made aircraft requires permission from Washington and the US is holding off delivery for the time being. In addition, pilots must be trained and the aircraft require an advanced maintenance system. The United Kingdom has already offered to train pilots.
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The Netherlands is also closely involved in international preparations for trials of war crimes. For example, the Netherlands quickly sent a forensic team to Ukraine and a European institution that collects data for a future war tribunal is located in The Hague. The Netherlands expressly supports the work of the International Criminal Court, which recently issued an arrest warrant against President Putin, alleging he was guilty of war crimes by deporting Ukrainian children.
NATO membership
Zelensky’s visit not only comes on the eve of a much-discussed spring offensive, but also comes in preparation for a major NATO summit in July. Ukraine would like to join the alliance quickly and a number of mainly Eastern European countries support this wish. A large group of countries, including the Netherlands, see no point in discussing membership at the moment.
It was striking that Zelensky’s visit was ‘prepared’ earlier this week by his chief of staff, who voluntarily reported to the Dutch media. In NRC Andriy Jermak argued for a kind of provisional membership. He hopes that NATO will already legally invite Ukraine this summer.
Ukraine not only wants to become a member of NATO, but is also well on its way to becoming a member of the European Union. Last summer, the country was granted candidate membership status and before the end of this year, European heads of government must decide whether Ukraine is far enough along to formally open accession negotiations.